Government delays Send reform announcement
The announcement setting out the Government’s reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system will be delayed until the new year, the Education Secretary has said.
In a letter to the chairwoman of the Education Select Committee, Bridget Phillipson said the Government will bring forward a full Schools White Paper early in the new year. It had originally been expected in autumn.
In the letter to Helen Hayes, Ms Phillipson said: “To help us deliver the most effective set of reforms we can, I have taken the decision to have a further period of co-creation, testing our proposals with the people who matter most in this reform – the families – alongside teachers and other experts as you highlight in the Select Committee’s report.
“We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper early in the new year underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.”
She added that ministers at the Department for Education (DfE) have been engaging extensively with families and experts in recent months, which is now being fronted by Georgia Gould, who was appointed in September.
The Education Secretary set out five principles for Send reform in her letter, focusing on children receiving support early and locally, rather than travelling far away.
Reforms should be effective and grounded in evidence, she added, with all schools fairly resourced to meet “common and predictable needs”, and education, health and care services working in partnership with each other as well as councils and families.
There have been concerns that Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs0 may be cut under the Government reforms, however, Ms Gould has previously said there “will always be a legal right to additional support” for young people with Send.
The delay comes as the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank published a report declaring that the current approach to supporting children with Send is “no longer fit for purpose”.
Last year, less than half of EHCPs were issued within the statutory time limit of 20 weeks, IPPR said, while for one in 14 young people, the wait was longer than a year.
The analysis by local authority found that 57 per cent of young people in Leeds wait more than a year for their EHCPs.
At the same time, the number of EHCP needs assessments have increased by 250 per cent from 2013 to 2024.
One in five children are identified with Send and more than 5 per cent of all pupils now access the highest level of support through EHCPs, almost double the 2017 figure.
Baroness Anne Longfield, the former Children's Commissioner from Ilkley, said: “The Send system is broken and failing many thousands of children with additional needs, diminishing their education and their life chances.
"This report demonstrates why reform is needed so urgently, and why inclusion must run right through our education system.
“All children should be part of a school community that is welcoming and inclusive, that is supported to meet their needs, and which is aspirational about achieving the very best outcomes.”